Report: Bucs hire Wannstedt to coach special teams

The Buccaneers hired former Bills defensive coordinator Dave Wannstedt as their special-teams coordinator on Friday, ESPN's Adam Schefter first reported.

Wannstedt was fired following the 2012 season, along with the rest of the Bills' staff. He started at Buffalo in 2011 as an assistant head coach/inside linebackers coach.

From 2005-10, Wannstedt was the head coach at the University of Pittsburgh, where he played his college ball. He last coached a special-teams unit during his first stint as a Pittsburgh assistant, from 1977-78.

In the NFL, Wannstedt was the Cowboys' defensive coordinator from 1989-92, the Bears' head coach from 1993-98 and the Dolphins' head coach from 2000-04, after one year as the team's defensive coordinator.

Wannstedt takes over for Bob Ligashesky, who was fired on Wednesday. He reunites with Bucs head coach Greg Schiano - the two worked together in Chicago from 1996-98 and coached against each other in the Big East.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.